Something Changed
by Waiting for my Soulmate
Summary: HC fluff all the way. The impact the little things can have


Disclaimer: Doesn't belong to me...would anyone believe me if I told you it did

Calleigh stepped inside then closed the door to her apartment, leaning against it for support. She needed something, and that something was her boss, Horatio Caine. Calleigh was a confident, competent woman in her own right, but she had recognised similar characteristics in Lieutenant Caine, a shared desire for justice and an unceasing drive for perfection, as well as unrequited love. Horatio had been in love with his sister in law, that much had been obvious when Calleigh had first arrived in Miami; Calleigh's own unreturned love was for Horatio himself. In the years that had passed Calleigh had seen Horatio's love fade in to the fondness of a brother, but her own love had merely deepened, despite attempts to lessen its force by dating Hagen. It had caused many sleepless nights and occasional brief moments of hope, only to have hope dashed just as quickly.

Even her apartment, usually a place of refuge, had begun to play tricks on her, forcing Calleigh to confront her feelings at home as well as at work. Even as she walked to the kitchen she was bombarded with images and memories that just wouldn't stop surfacing.

She made coffee, and noticed that she had picked the mug Horatio had had printed for her...'Bullet Girl'

Calleigh looked through her fridge and found that there was some leftover pasta salad, made to Horatio's 'family recipe' as given to her at the CSI staff party

A quick glance at the newspaper lying on the counter revealed that she had circled several conferences taking place in Miami over the next few months, all of which were to do with forensics, none of which she would be attending, but Calleigh knew who would be at a large portion of those talks.

Deciding that the kitchen was fraught with memories, Calleigh picked up her plate and glass and headed in to the living room.

She sat on the couch and began to eat her meal, watching television to numb her mind, anything to take her mind off her boss. It seemed to work, until, flicking through the channels, Calleigh caught a glimpse of him. She quickly turned over, then just as quickly turned back, eager to see why he was on television. A news announcer was giving details of a case just coming to trial; the footage was of Horatio, as he brought the suspect James D'Angelo in to custody. Calleigh remembered the arrest well, she had nearly been run over by the get away vehicle, but at the last moment, as she saw the drivers face as he bore down on her, Horatio had lunged in, pushing her out of the way. Calleigh recalled that they had both been taken to hospital with minor cuts and bruises, and the two of them had comforted each other in the emergency room....it was one of Calleigh's favourite memories of Horatio. That simple second's glimpse of him had brought all of her feelings to the fore again, leaving her miserable and alone again.

Sighing, Calleigh put her utensils in the sink and headed for bed, constantly mindful of her early shift the following morning. She glanced in to her wardrobe, mentally selecting what she would wear tomorrow. In her mind, Calleigh identified her clothes in a certain way...the suit she had worn to Horatio's commendation, the shirt she had been wearing when he visited her in the bullet lab to complement her on a job well done, the sweater he had admired in passing. The only place Calleigh felt safe from Horatio was in her bathroom, a purely feminine place. But tonight, he invaded there too. She could smell his cologne in the air, on her soft sweater from the light hug he had given her in congratulations. There was no escape from her feelings; there was no escape from Horatio, not this time. Still Calleigh tried to put off the inevitable, she showered and changed before getting in to bed, resolutely not thinking about the man who had occupied so many of her thoughts since she came to Miami.

Glancing at the chair in the corner of the room, Calleigh noticed her new shirt lying spread on it. It was black, which was nothing in itself, except that it reminded her that everything that she had bought in the last few months had been predominantly black. It reminded her that she had been wearing all black a lot at work, despite her conviction that it didn't suit her. Calleigh knew why she'd done it though, because HE thought she looked good in all black, and she wanted to please and be noticed by Horatio, and not just in a professional way. Calleigh valued Horatio's opinion of her abilities, but she also wanted his acknowledgement in a more personal way.

It took a long time to admit it, but Calleigh knew she loved Horatio, it was just a question of how....if...to tell him. She had come close so many times, but something had held her back each time, an instinctive reaction to prevent her feelings being hurt. She knew she loved him, but Calleigh wasn't sure of Horatio's feelings....she wasn't prepared to put her heart on the line for no reason. One day, she promised herself, one day, she would tell him.

But not today, and not anytime soon, Calleigh thought to herself as she slipped in to sleep.

The morning dawned bright and early; Calleigh woke to the sound of her alarm buzzing and the almost simultaneous sound of her phone ringing. She sleepily rolled over, hit the alarm button and reached for the phone, all in one smooth fluid movement.

"Duquesne" she said briskly in to the phone

"It's Horatio; I need you to come in right away. There was a shooting last night, two young men were killed in a drive by, cops got a suspect but we need you to do a comparison on his gun. Problem is, he's got a hotshot lawyer, and he wants him charged or freed in 4 hours at the most. You're the only one who can get him Calleigh"

There was no thought in her mind except for the job; her feelings could be pushed aside while she concentrated on the job in hand. Calleigh said she'd be right in, then hung up the phone. She showered and dressed in less than 20 minutes and was at the CSI building twenty minutes later.

Once inside the bullet lab her concentration was solely taken up by the job in hand, as she fired round after round in to blocks of gelatine, trying to get an accurate representation of conditions. Once the magazine was spent, Calleigh collected the bullets and began to compare them to the four pulled from the two young victims. The first bullet was too degraded, having smashed in to the youngest man's skull, flattening it and rendering the striations useless for comparison, but the second and third bullets were a perfect match. Just to be sure Calleigh also compared the final bullet, to make sure that there would be no room for doubt at the trial. She wanted to make sure that this guy would be put away for life...Calleigh was known for being both empathetic and tough when the occasion demanded, but few things affected her like the death of an innocent.

A footstep alerted her to his presence, but he still entered the room with a familiar, 'knock, knock', to ensure that she wasn't startled.

"How's it going? Do we have a match?" Horatio asked. Normally he would have said good morning, or some other acknowledgement, but he was almost as concerned as she was, as desperate to ensure that the shooter would be going away for a long, long time.

"No, we have three" she smiled up at him, able to feel something other than anxiety for the first time since Horatio's phone call that morning. She handed him photographs of the compared bullets, he nodded his thanks and swiftly left the room, because of the four hour deadline set by the suspect's lawyer, time was of the essence and the team needed to secure the conviction, then hand it over to the Miami-Dade PD as soon as possible.

As the door closed, Calleigh let her smile falter and the stress of the morning overcame her, as well as another onslaught of feelings for Horatio, which resurfaced every time she saw him. She shook her head...she was in big trouble. With a mental shake, Calleigh came to her decision; she was going to tell him. Today...now...as soon as he had finished with the drive by suspect...yes. In that moment something changed in her mind, years later Calleigh still couldn't tell you what had altered, but _something_ had. Acting on impulse, Calleigh headed up to Horatio's office, only to find him deep in conversation with Eric Delko, so she waited on the bench near the door, hoping their meeting would end before she lost her nerve.

The door opened slightly, and Calleigh almost leapt up, but Eric did not leave straight away, instead standing in the doorway.

"When are you gonna tell her H?" he asked quietly

The vehemence of Horatio's answer startled Calleigh as she heard it,

"**_Never_**. I will never tell her, end of story. Don't bring it up again Eric."

Eric held his hands up in a gesture of defeat, then left the office, heading for the break room. Calleigh was torn between following him to ask what the uncharacteristic argument was about, or going through with her plan to tell Horatio. A brief war with herself left Calleigh standing nervously at the door to Horatio's office, knocking on the door, feeling apprehensive and yet exhilarated at the same time.

She entered when asked to and stood in front of his desk, feeling for all the world like a naughty school child. Horatio waited for Calleigh to say something about the case, but nothing was forthcoming. Words were on the tip of her tongue but she was having trouble getting past the walls put up to protect herself.

Oh, just say itshe mentally chided herself, and with that she plunged right in.

"Horatio, there's never been anything I wouldn't talk to you about, right? Well, I've been keeping something secret from you, and I just can't do it anymore. It's starting to affect my work, my home, everything."

Horatio had begun to pace at the mention of a secret, obviously waiting for a moment to jump in and reassure her, rescue her, anything to make her feel better. Now he spoke

"What is it? Something to do with your family? Work? Anything I can help you with, just tell me. Is it someONE that's causing you a problem?" He fired off the questions with a characteristic air, which disconcerted her slightly, and which Calleigh found disturbingly sexy. She found it necessary to interrupt

"It's you Horatio. You're the cause of my problems, you've caused them for some time, but I've always been able to keep it under control."

"What...what have I done?" Horatio asked, looking stricken. It appeared as if each of Calleigh's words had been a wound to him, for a moment, a lost child looked out from behind the experienced eyes.

"You haven't done anything, that's the problem.' Calleigh was too far in to her own anger and confusion to notice the pain she was causing him. 'I've been in love with you for years and you've never done anything about it! I've tried to tell you so many times, and you've never done _anything_ about it." With an abrupt stop Calleigh realised that she had gone too far, turned on her heel and left the office.

stupid, stupid, stupidshe reproached herself silently as she almost ran from the building and in to the parking lot. She made it to her car, having no idea where she was going, only that she had to get out of Horatio's immediate vicinity. Calleigh wrenched open her car door and almost made it inside before a strong hand grabbed the doorframe, stopping her from closing it. She didn't have to look at his face; the posture was enough to let her know that Horatio was in a state of extreme agitation.

"Get out of the car please" he said, "_please,_ Calleigh"

Reluctantly, she gave in to the inevitable, getting out of her vehicle and standing next to it, arms folded defensively. For a moment, neither said anything, but without seeming to move, Horatio was suddenly kissing Calleigh, her arms trapped between them. He broke the kiss first, each of them breathless with the intensity of feeling poured in to the kiss. Horatio just looked at her, eyes searching for some clue to her feelings.

"Why didn't you tell me I loved you?" he asked quietly, never letting go of her arm.

"Well, why didn't you tell me, Handsome?" some of her old playfulness returned when she realised that everything she wanted was almost in her sights.

"I just did" and with that he bent and kissed her again, sweet and powerful all at once, cementing his declaration at last.


End file.
